It doesn’t matter if they’re right or wrong; NFL quarterbacks are always expected to take the blame for their team’s shortcomings. On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott chose a more honest route.

Speaking to reporters following the Cowboys’ loss to the New York Giants — the team’s ninth of the 2025 season — Prescott sent a message that he might catch heat for, yet one that is exactly right.

Wins correlated to QB play? Not this time

After the Cowboys’ Week 18 matchup, Prescott took an honest approach when discussing the team’s 7-9-1 record. Instead of taking a bullet for corporate — something he’s used to do — he acknowledged the team’s win-loss record didn’t reflect his individual play.

“One of the first seasons — if not the first of my career — I can’t directly correlate my play to the wins or losses, or the end of the season, or overall success of the season,” Prescott told reporters. “So that makes it frustrating. One of the best offenses in the league, explosive. Now, sure, not always to our standard. Didn’t play like that every week, week in and week out, but put up a lot of points. Unfortunately, just didn’t win all the games that we should have.”

That’s about as direct a criticism of the defense as you’re going to get from Prescott, who is one of the most professional players out there when addressing the media.

And you know what? He’s speaking the truth. Prescott led a top-five scoring offense while putting together one of the best QB seasons of the year. He elevated George Pickens’ game to heights never seen during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He entered Week 18 as the passing leader in the NFL.

The problem that week in and week out costs the Cowboys games? In the nine losses and one tie, the team surrendered an average of 34 points per game. For the first time in franchise history, the Cowboys surrendered over 500 points.

Prescott did put some of the blame on himself as well.

“There’s been enough times being up here talking to you guys and saying, ‘I need to fix this. I need to get better at this,” Prescott added. “And to have a season where it wasn’t on my play, where I can’t say I should have fixed that or I should have fixed that.

“I take accountability, don’t get me wrong, in so many ways. And as the leader I am, I’m frustrated, always trying to figure out what I could have done better. Whether it was conversations here, talking to this guy there, or whatever it may be. I do still put some of it on myself.”

Prescott’s words foreshadow change

To back up Prescott’s postgame message, the Cowboys are expected to make changes to their defensive coaching staff. Matt Eberflus was admittedly under evaluation during the team’s final three-game stretch, and the results weren’t great. Dallas gave up 30+ points in each of those games while facing:

• The Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive line down multiple starters.
• The Washington Commanders’ third-string quarterback, Josh Johnson
• Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart.

Now, regardless of Eberflus’ future, it’s clear the Cowboys front office deserves its share of the blame. In December, Prescott suggested he could provide the organization with more input on what the team needs. Could he nudge the Cowboys to be more aggressive this offseason? We’ll see. For now, expect him to do his part to secure George Pickens’ future in Dallas.

On Sunday, he doubled down on such intentions.

“There’s going to be conversations,” Prescott said. “I’m sure they’re going to reach out, and there are going to be other topics where I go to them first, right? And so there’ll be a lot of communication.”

“I know I heard (Schottenheimer) just say at the end of it, this is the time now that we have the time for that, right? Not only do your evaluations, but from there you decide how you’re going to move forward, what pieces change, what pieces stay the same, and what team you’re going to put together for next year.”

Prescott expects ‘greatness’ in the future

Asked about what he sees in his future, Prescott didn’t set the bar low:

“Greatness. I’m gonna work every day and bust my ass in the gym and the way that I take care of my body, throwing on the field. Doing everything I can. I don’t expect anything different than in years past to be better next year than I was this year. And I think just over my career, the track record somewhat proves that.”

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